Winch



March 16,1943.

N. H. BRAKE 2,314,200

WINCH l Filed July 9, 1942 sheets-'sheet 1 35 fa f7 1 I f5 f2 '1 /4/ ,lli f7 l ,3 y :Ilz-Q '25' f6.

4 f INVENTOR.

/Vfnx/MA/V HERA KE March 16, 1943.

N. H. pRAKE WINCH Filed July 9. 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

March 16, 1943. Y' N. H. DRAKE WINCH Filed July 9; 1942 3 Sheets-'Sheet 5 4 TToR/vf ns Patented Mar. 16,1943

UNITED STATES- PATEINT OFFICE.

WINCH Newman H. Drake, Essex Fells, N. J., assignor to Snelling Bros. & Drake, New York, N. Y., aA vcel-partnership composed .oflloward R. Snelling and N ewmanlLDrake Application July 9, 1942, Serial N01. 450,270

5 Claims.

use, it has been the universal practice, so far asv known, to mount the Winches directly on top'of the Wing decks of the dock. When thus located, these Winches form obstacles to the free movement of the men Working on said decks which are quite narrow, even on the larger docks. Also, many of the known types of Winches are of such construction as to require assembly of parts at the time of installation on the dock.

One of the objects of the present invention is to eliminate the above drawbacks by providing a winch which may be completely assembled' before linstallation and wherein the elements of which are so constructed and arranged that the winch may be secured to the inner vWing wall directly below the Wing deck where it will be entirely out of the way of the men lworking on said deck and yet be capable of easy operation from said deck.

Another object is to provide an improved winch or windlass of simple, pratical and, compact construction consisting of a minimum number of parts which may be easily and quickly assembled prior 'to installation.

A further object is to facilitate operation of the winch, when secured to the inner wing wall of a drydock, by having a socket of the heaver arm disposed at such an angle that when aY capstan bar is mounted in said socket the bar will extend' inwardlyfand over the wing deck so that the operator may readily control the winch Without standing dangerously close to the edge of the deck.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the following detailed descriptionV when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the inventive idea.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of a drydock showing the application of the present invention thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation, partly broken away and shown in sectiomof a winch constructed in accordance with the invention, 55

andsillustratng the same in its operative position onthe inner wing Wall of a drydock.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, taken at right angles thereto.

Fig.V 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of a winch or Windlass such as may be used on the deck of a vessel, and

Fig. 5 is an elevational view, taken at right angles to Fig. 4, and partly broken away and shown in section.

Referring more particularly to Figs. l to 3- wherein the invention is shown in its adaptation to. a drydock Where it may be utilized to adjust a bilge block relative to the hull of a vessel, the numeral Il) indicates generally the hull of the drydock which includes the wing decks II and the inner Wing walls I2. The customary keel and bilge blocks are designated by the numerals I3 and I4, respectively. For the purpose of adjusting each bilge block I4 relative to the hull of the ship, alength of hawse chain I5 is provided, one end of which is attached to the inner end of the block I4 from whence said chain passes around a pulley I6 located adjacent the keel block I3 and then extends in the opposite direction ytoward the wing wall I2 vWhere the chain engages the vlower and upper double pulleys I1 attached to said wall. From thence, the chain extends to the Winch and then downwardly to the pulleys Il, with the other extremity of the chain attached to the outer end of the bilge block. Thus, by operating the winch, the bilge block may be adjusted back and forth along the bottom of the drydock and relative to the hull of va ship therein.

Reference is now had to Figs. 2 and 3 wherein the detailed construction of the winch is illustrated. VIn accordance with the present invention, the housing of the winch, generally indicated bytheA numeral I 8, comprises the inner and outer vertically spaced, opposed Walls I9 and 2D, respectively, with the connecting bottom 2|, all of which are cast integrally from suitable met-al to provide a unitary structure. When in operative position, the winch is secured to the Wing- Wall I2 directly'below the deck I I and is attached to said wall by bolts 22 extending through portions of the inner wall I9 and said wing wall I2. Extending horizontally between the walls I9 and 20 at their approximate centers is a shaft 23 screw-threaded Aat its inner end toengage in the wall 9, and mounted for rotation in opposite directions about said shaft and between said walls t9, 20 is the Wildcat 24 having the usual opposed pairs of lugs 25` thereonadapted to grip 24, with the teeth of the' ratchets extending out Wardly beyond the periphery of the Wildcat. The ratchet 21 is utilized for operating the Wildcat and the ratchet 28 is employed for the purpose of holding the same, as Will appear in the course of the description. A washer 29 is interposed between a boss 36 and the vertical wall I9 and the adjacent face of the ratchet 28, and a similar washer 3| is engaged with the outer face of the ratchet 21.

The operating means for the winch comprises a heaver arm, generally indicated by the numeral 32, Which comprises a circular bearing plate 33 mounted for oscillation on shaft 23 between the outer wall of the housing and the ratchet' 21, said bearing plate engaging the Washer 3i on one side and having engaged therewith on its opposite side another Washer 34. Extending from the periphery of the plate 33 is a socket 35 which is inclined with respect to the plane of the plate 33 so that the socket will extend diagonally inward in the direction of the Wing deck Il when the Winch is installed in its operative position. This socket is adapted to receive the tapered end of a capstan bar 36 by means 0f which the operator may rotate the Wildcat 24 in the desired direction to shift the connected bilge block I4 either toward or away from the hull of the ship. It will be apparent from Fig. 1 that due to the inclination of the socket 35 and consequent similar DOSiQn of the capstan bar 36, the latter Will extendfover the wing ydeck ll in overhanging relation thereto so that the operator may grasp the bar, while in a standing position away from the edge of the Wing deck, and swing the bar back andforth to operate the Wildcat. To turn the Wildcat 24 in the desired direction, the heaver arm- 32 has pivoted thereto at 31 the gravity operating pawl 38 which is adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet 21 to rotate the same in the desired direction. As shown in Fig. 2, the paWl 38 is engaged with its ratchet so as to rotate the same in a counter-clockwise'direction. But when it is desired to rotate said ratchet and the vwildcat in the opposite direction, the pawl 38 need only be swung to a reverse position to that shown in Fig. 2. In order to hold the Wildcat against turning in a clockwise direction While it is being rotated in the opposite direction, a gravity hold,- ing. pawl 39 is pivoted at 40fto the upper portion of the Wall i9 of the housing, and this pawl engages with the teeth of the ratchet 28, as shown in Fig. v2. When the pawl 38 is shifted to its reverse position from that shown in Fig. 2, the pawl 33 is also reversed. Means are provided for limiting the swinging movements of the heaver arm so that the capstan -bar 36 will always be Within reach of the operator and this means takes the form of two stop lugs 4I projecting inwardly from opposite sides of the outer wall 2l) of the housing and disposed-in the path ofV movement of said arm 32.

The winch or windlass illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is of the type which is adapted for attachment to the deck of a vessel or the like and among its uses may be that of hoisting anchor chains. In this modication, the housing is an integral cast structure, like the housing I8, and comprises the opposed vertical Walls 42 and 43 extending upwardly from the base plate 44 which is adapted to be attached to its support by bolts 45, said base being provided therein with hawse openings 44a. A shaft 46 is threaded into a boss 41 formed on the inner side of the wall 42 and the Wildcat 48 is mounted for rotation in either direction upon the shaft 46. Formed integrally with the Wildcat are the two ratchets 49 and 50, similar to the ratchets 21, 28, and engaged by the gravity pawls 5I and 52, respectively, the pawl 5I being pivoted on the heaver arm 53 while the bar 52 is pivoted on a boss 54 formed adjacent to the upper edge of the wall 42. The heaver arm 53 comprises a bearing plate 55 mounted upon the shaft 46 be- 'tween the outer Wall 43 and the ratchet 49, and

f said arm further comprises the socket 56 adapted to receive a capstan bar 51. Stops 58 are formed on the outer wall 43 of the housing at opposite points thereof and arranged in the path of movement of the heaver' arm so as to limit its swinging movements.

, A brake device may be employed in connection with this type of Winch or Windlass and; as shown herein, this brake device comprises a drum 59 extending laterally from and formed integrally with the ratchet 58. Ay brake band 60 extends about the drum and has one end connected at 6I to an arm of a bell-crank lever 62, with the other end of said band aiiixed to said lever at its pivotal point 63. Said lever 62 is provided with a socket 64 for receiving one end of the brake lever 65 utilized to tighten and loosen the band 60 on its drum 59.

' From the foregoing description, it will.n be apparent that the device of the present invention consists of only three major elements, namely, the housing, the Wildcat with its ratchets, and the heaver arm; and that the parts are so constructedand assembled as to enhance lthe simplicity and compactness of the construction and enable it to be completely assembled prior to installation.

What is claimed isz 1. In a Winch, a housing `comprising two opposed. .vertical walls and a connecting bottom having hawse openings therein, a shaft extending between said walls, a Wildcat rotatable on said shaft between said walls and having two ratchets forming the opposed faces thereof, .a brake. drum formed on and extending outwardly from one of said ratchets, a brake band extend-vl ing about said drum, an operating lever for said brake bandpivoted to one of said side walls, a heaver arm mounted on said shaft for movement thereabout, an operating pawl pivoted to said heaver armA and engaging one of vsaid ratchets, and a-'holding pawl pivoted to one of said side Walls and engaging the other of said ratchets.

2. The combination with the wing deck and inner. Wingwall of a drydock; of a Winch complising a. h'ou'sing including opposed side Walls one of which is attached to said wing wall below the level .of said deck, a Wildcat mounted for rotation between said side walls, a heaver arm having operative connection with said Wildcat and provided with a socket inclined inwardly from a vertical plane and toward said Wing deck, and a capstan bar in said socket and extendingr above said deck in the direction of inclination of said socket so as to be in overhanging relation to said deck.

3. Thecombination with the Wing deck and inner wing wall of a drydock; of a winch comprising a housing including opposed side walls one of which is attached to said wing wall below the level of said deck, a Wildcat mounted for rotation between said side walls and having two ratchets thereon, a heaver arm mounted between one of said ratchets and a side wall of said housing and provided with a socket inclined inwardly from a vertical plane and toward said wing deck, an operating pawl pivoted to said arm and engaging one of said ratchets, a holding pawl pivoted to the first named side Wall of said housing and engaging the other of said ratchets, and a capstan bar in said socket and extending above said deck in the direction of inclination of said socket.

4. The combination with the wing deck and a wing wall of a drydock; of a winch comprising a supporting structure attached to said wing wall below the level of said deck, a Wildcat mounted for rotation in said supporting structure, and a swingable bar for rotating said wildcat and having a handle portion at its upper end, said bar being operatively connected to said Wildcat and extending upwardly therefrom along said side wall with the handle portion thereof in overhanging relation to said wing deck during the complete cycle of operation of said Wildcat.

5. The combination with the wing deck and a wing wall of a drydock; of a Winch comprising a supporting structure attached to said wing wall below the level of said deck, a Wildcat mounted for rotation in said supporting structure, and an oscillatory bar for rotating said Wildcat and having a handle portion at its upper end, said bar being operatively connected to said Wildcat and extending upwardly therefrom at an inclination to said side wall with said handle portion in overhanging relation to said wing deck during the complete cycle of operation of said 20 Wildcat. 

